Motorists will have to shell out more to travel on the Cuddalore - Chittoor Road (NH 38) in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram as three toll plazas are set to become functional on the route soon.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced toll rates in these plazas for various vehicles, including cars, jeep, van and trucks.
Accordingly, vehicles like cars, jeeps, vans will be charged ₹35 (one-way), ₹50 (return), ₹1,090 (monthly pass). Vehicles like mini-bus will have to pay ₹55, ₹80 and ₹1,765 respectively. For buses and trucks, the charges will be ₹110, ₹165 and ₹3,695. Heavy vehicles like three-axle commercial vehicles will be levied ₹120, ₹180 and ₹4,030. Multi-axle vehicles will be charged ₹175, ₹260, ₹5,790.
“Minor variation will be on the charges collected at these new plazas. The stretch has been handed over to us for toll operation, which will commence soon,” said a NHAI official. Officials said that new toll plazas are located at Vallam village (Vellore), Deepak Nagar (Tiruvannamalai) and Thennamadevi village (Villupuram) on the stretch. Currently, the stretch is being maintained by the National Highway (NH) wing of the State Highways department. However, the toll collections at these new plazas will be done by NHAI. Developed as an alternative to the congested GST Road, the Cuddalore - Chittoor Road runs through districts like Villupuram, Kallakuruchi, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet, Vellore, Tirupattur before ending in Chittoor (A.P.), covering a distance of 205 km. The entire stretch is a short route for goods-laden vehicles from southern districts to reach northern areas and neighbouring States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Like other national highways, the stretch has been developed into two and four lanes using funds from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Of a total 205 km of the stretch, the new three toll plazas cover a distance of 121 km in these three districts. Each toll plaza, on an average, is located at 40 km distance from the other. At present, the stretch is being widened at various spots covering these districts. For instance, the stretch between Kallakuruchi and Tiruvannamalai is being widened into four lanes covering a distance of 28 km under the Chief Minister Road Development Programme for 2022-23 (CMRDP) at a cost of ₹209 crore, officials said.
